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You are here: Home / Geography / Where Is the Highest Waterfall In the World and When Did Jimmy Angel Discover Angel Falls In Venezuela?

Where Is the Highest Waterfall In the World and When Did Jimmy Angel Discover Angel Falls In Venezuela?

July 11, 2020 by Karen Hill

Angel Falls in eastern Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world, with a drop of 3,212 feet (979 m) from Devil Mountain.

That distance is more than twice the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago, which is 1,450 feet (442 m) high.

A U.S. pilot named Jimmy Angel discovered the falls by accident while searching for gold in 1935.

Angel Falls drops over the edge of the Auyantepui mountain in the Canaima National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Gran Sabana region of BolĂ­var State, Venezuela.

The waterfall is so high that before reaching the ground, much of the water is evaporated or carried away as a fine mist by the strong wind.

The official height of the Angel Falls was determined by a National Geographic Society survey carried out by American journalist Ruth Robertson in 1949.

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Filed Under: Geography

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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